Removing a Hot Tub Pad and Restoring the Spot (Oregon)

Quick Verdict

Hot tub pad removal in Oregon is the cleanup step after the spa itself is gone: you break and haul the concrete slab or gravel base, cap and pull the abandoned electrical conduit, and re-grade the spot so it drains instead of becoming a puddle on clay soil. A typical 6-by-8 or 8-by-8 pad is a half-day job for a crew with a breaker and a mini excavator, but the details, conduit capping, recycling the broken concrete, and restoring grade, are what separate a clean job from a low spot that ponds every winter. This page is about removing the leftover pad and restoring the area, distinct from removing the tub. For the full scope, start with the residential demolition guide pillar.

Tub Gone, Pad Left Behind

When a hot tub is hauled away, what stays is the base it sat on, usually one of:

• A poured concrete pad, often 4 to 6 inches thick
• A paver base on compacted gravel
• A compacted crushed-gravel pad
• A reinforced deck section (a different job, handled with deck removal)

The tub is the easy part; the base is the demolition. If you have not removed the tub yet, that is its own process, covered in hot tub and spa removal. This article picks up after the spa is gone and you are left staring at a slab or gravel patch you want returned to lawn, patio, or another use.

Breaking and Hauling the Slab

A concrete spa pad comes out in a predictable sequence.

1. Disconnect and confirm power is dead at the panel before anyone touches the conduit or slab.
2. Break the concrete with a hydraulic breaker on a mini excavator, or a handheld jackhammer for small or tight-access pads.
3. Pull the rebar or wire mesh out of the broken concrete so it can be separated for recycling.
4. Load and haul the broken concrete off site.
5. Excavate any gravel base under the slab if you are restoring to soil or planting.

A paver or gravel base is easier, lift the pavers, then dig out and haul the gravel. The thickness and any reinforcement drive the effort; a thin unreinforced pad breaks fast, a thick reinforced slab takes longer. Slab removal cost in general is covered in concrete slab removal cost.

Pulling and Capping the Conduit

This is the step DIYers forget. A hot tub had a dedicated electrical circuit, and often that conduit runs underground to the spot.

• Confirm the circuit is de-energized and ideally removed at the panel by an electrician.
• Pull the conductors back where possible.
• Cap and mark abandoned conduit so it is safely terminated, not left as a live hazard or a trip-up for future digging.

If the conduit is being fully abandoned, it should be handled to code; an electrician's involvement is wise. Leaving an unmarked, uncapped conduit underground is exactly the kind of surprise that bites the next person who digs there.

Re-Grading So It Doesn't Pond

Here is the Oregon-specific make-or-break: the spot where a pad sat is now a hole, and on clay soil a hole ponds.

When you remove a slab and its gravel base, you leave a depression. If you backfill carelessly, that low spot collects water, and on poorly draining Willamette Valley clay it stays wet all winter, killing grass and breeding mosquitoes.

Doing it right:

• Backfill in compacted lifts so the area does not settle into a depression later.
• Restore positive grade so water sheds away from the house and any structures, not toward them.
• Match the surrounding soil profile, topsoil on top if you are seeding or sodding.
• Blend the surface so the old pad outline disappears.

The restoration scope depends on what you want there next: a lawn needs topsoil and grade, while a future patio or shed pad needs a compacted base instead. We grade to drain, which on clay is the whole point.

Recycling the Concrete

Broken concrete does not have to go to a landfill, and in Oregon it usually should not.

• Concrete recycling: Many transfer stations and aggregate yards accept clean broken concrete, crushing it into recycled base rock. This is often cheaper than landfill disposal and keeps material out of the dump.
• Separate the steel: Rebar and wire mesh are pulled and recycled as scrap metal.
• Keep it clean: Concrete mixed with dirt, wood, or trash may be rejected or cost more, so clean separation pays off.

This is both an environmental win and frequently a cost saver versus straight disposal.

What Pad Removal Costs

Cost scales with pad size, thickness, reinforcement, access, and how much restoration you want, lawn versus a new patio base.

Industry Baseline Range: breaking and hauling a residential spa pad commonly runs an excavator-and-operator rate of roughly $150 to $350+ per hour for a typically half-day job, with haul-off of the broken concrete running $250 to $750+ per load and dump/disposal or recycling fees running $75 to $300+ per load. Restoring the spot with imported topsoil or fill adds $20 to $75+ per cubic yard delivered. Most small demolition jobs carry a $500 to $1,500+ minimum callout.

These are industry baseline ranges for planning only -- actual pricing depends on site conditions, soil, access, depth, haul-off, and current market conditions. Get a site-specific quote.

Current Market Reality

Real costs often run 2 to 3 times baseline when the pad is thick and heavily reinforced, when access is tight and a machine cannot reach it, when the conduit needs an electrician, or when restoration means building a new compacted base rather than just dropping topsoil. A backyard with no machine access is a different job than a driveway-accessible pad.

The Bottom Line

Removing a hot tub pad is more than swinging a hammer: break and haul the slab, recycle the concrete, cap the abandoned conduit, and, most importantly on Oregon clay, re-grade so the spot drains instead of ponding. Leave any of those out and you trade a slab for a wet low spot or a buried hazard. Cojo is CCB Licensed and Insured, based in Hood River and serving statewide Oregon, and we break out pads, recycle the concrete, and restore the grade to drain. Explore our excavation services or request a free estimate to clear and restore your old spa spot.